gameshowsfandomcom-20200213-history
Ballbreakers
"Tonight, there's $20,000 on the line and four pool hustlers is out to get it! All it takes is talent, focus, and plenty of guts! THIS IS BALLBREAKERS!" Ballbreakers was a short-lived GSN original that featured four amateur pool players competing for $20,000 in this short-lived GSN original. Gameplay The show featured four people who first auditioned for the show in both categories of personality and pool skill. They then played a series of games of 9-Ball against one another for bets. At the beginning of the show, the $20,000 prize was divided among each contestant (¼ or $5,000 for each player) for use in betting. Round 1 During warm-ups, a player was selected for control of the table. He/She decided who to play against for the first game. The minimum bet in the first round was $1,000 per game. The first round continued until all players had played at least once, at which point the two players with the least money were pitted against one another in an elimination round. Side betting Any player with money was allowed to place a side bet on the current game (even one of the competing players). Anything could be bet on (e.g.: who would win, whether a particular ball would be made or missed, or whether one player would "run out the table"). All side bets were in $500 increments, but the bettor was required to find a taker for a bet to be official. Round 2 In Round 2, minimum bets were $2,000, and the challenged player could not back down; he/she had to either accept the stakes or raise. Side bets were still bottomed at $500, and the winner of the first game played against the other player in the round. Unlike normal Pool rules, if no ball went into any hole on the "break", the opposing player would get "ball in hand". After two games, the two low scorers played in the Elimination game as in Round 1 unless someone went all-in & lost. Elimination Round/Table Control Game The two players with the smallest bankrolls at the end of either of the first two rounds were forced to play one game to survive. Whoever had the smaller bankroll was of necessity all-in, and the opponent put in an equal amount. The winner of the game survived to move on to the next round which started with a "Table Control" game, and collected winnings as usual. If the "all-in" player moved on, that meant some leftover money was in contention. The winner of the "Table Control" game collected all of this contended money. Final Round In the final round, the two remaining players played for all the money. In this round, missing any shot (except the 9-Ball) gave the opponent ball-in-hand. The first three games were "all-in" affairs; if the player with more money could win any of them, the show was over and the $20,000 was won by that player. If the round went three games with no player having all $20,000, the fourth & final game was played for all of the cash, regardless of each player's bankroll at that time. Celebrity shows For celebrity shows the rules were altered, in Round 1, each player automatically risked $1,000 and no higher during games, and side bets were limited to $500. In Round 2, players risked $2,000 for each game. The final round consisted of three sudden death games, with the player in 4th facing 3rd, the winner playing the player in 2nd, the winner of that playing against the player in 1st. The winner received $20,000 for their charity, while the others received $10,000 for their charities, and all four celebrities also received a Brunswick pool table for themselves. Two celebrity shows were broadcast. Rating Press Photos ballbreakers_adrianne03.jpg ballbreakers_adrianne01.jpg ballbreakers_adrianne02.jpg Links Brian's Ballbreakers Page YouTube Videos Full Episode from 9/17/05 *Part 1 *Part 2 *Part 3 *Part 4 Category:Sport Category:Gambling Category:Game Show Network shows Category:GSN Originals Category:Short-Running Category:Flops Category:2005 premieres Category:2006 endings Category:Billiards